Interrupter for flexibly mounted guns



April 2, 1946.

c. cs. TRIMBACH ET AL 2,397,577

INTERRUPTER FOR FLEXIBLY MOUNTED GUNS Filed April 12, 1945 mmmmm INVENTORS PAUL M. BIRK AND BY CLEM e. TEIMBACH ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 2, 1946 INTERRUPTER FOR FLEXIBLY MOUNTED GUNS Clem G. Trimbach, Eggertsville, and Paul M. Birk, Kenmore, N. Y., assignors to Curtiss-Wright Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application April 12, 1943, Serial No. 482,800

1 Claim.

This invention relates to flexibly mounted guns and more particularly to the mechanism for controlling the firing of the gun.

It so happens that with gun mounts which are located in more or less confined spaces, that there are obstructions which may often get in the way of the gun and which will be shot off or harmed by the gun unless the gunner is alert to this obstruction. This condition particularly prevails with guns mounted on airplanes, and if consider able care is not taken, injury to numerous control parts of the airplane will result, thereby putting the airplane out of commission by the airplanes own gun fire.

It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a control mechanism which will automatically prevent or interrupt the firing of the gun if it is pointed toward one of the obstructions wherein the gunner will not need to be put to the trouble of keeping these obstructions in mind.

It is another object to provide such an automatic control mechanism for use With gun mounts, which is compact and mountable on the gun carrier as a unit, and one which with little adjustment can be adapted for use on any gun carrier.

According to the present invention, there has been provided a control unit including a cylinder of conducting material adapted to be rotated by the gun turret and a contact element in engagement therewith which is adapted to be responsive to vertical adjustment of the gun on the turret. This cylinder and the electric contact element is included in an electrical circuit which operates on a solenoid forming a part of the trigger mechanism of the gun. At the time the gun is installed on its carrier, the obstructions are noted and a pattern of non-conducting material made in accordance therewith, is placed on the cylinder. If the gun, when in action, is inadvertently moved into a position whereby the obstruction will lie in the path of a bullet from the gun as determined by the pattern, the electrical circuit is broken and the current to the solenoid controlling the trigger mechanism, is interrupted. The gun fire is at these times interrupted.

For other objects and for a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which Fig. l is a fragmentary top plan view of an airplane with the gun turret mounted therein embodying the features of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the airplane,

broken away to show the gun turret and the control mechanism.

Referring now to the figures, there is shown an airplane body In in which there is a gun mount ll including a gun l2 and a turret l3. Within the gun turretis a gunners seat l4. From the seat the gunner can swing the turret in a horizontal plane and can vertically tilt the gun l2 about its pivot 15 on a turret top l6. The turning of the turret is efiected by the gunners pressing his feet against the floor portion 11. There is located below the seat I4 and centrally aligned with the turret top IS, a bevel gear l8, which is connected to the turret top by means of depending brace elements I!) whereby, as the turret top l6 and the gun l2 are rotated, the gear ill will be simultaneously turned to assume the same position that the gun may take.

On the gun I2 is an arm 20 to which is connected a flexible Bowden wire 2| for adjustment by the gun as it is tilted vertically, through a tube 22 for connection with a rocker element 23 mounted on the gear IS. The sleeve 22 is retained on the gear 18 by a bracket 24 and the wire 2| is slidable in and out of the same to rock the rocker element 23 about its pivot 25. Since the wire 2| and the tube 22 are both carried by the gun mount l l. they are both bodily moved therewith.

The rocker element 23 has an arm 26 adapted toact against a pin 21 extending through an opening in the gear l8 at its central point. This pin 21 is supported on an arm 28 of a bell crank lever 29 pivoted on a bracket 39 carried on the floor portion l1.

Adapted to be mounted in the bottom of the airplane body as a unit, is a control mechanism 32having a cylinder 33 of conducting material mounted for rotation therein. This cylinder 33 has rigidly connected to it a bevel gear 34 in mesh with a small gear 35 on a flexible shafting 36 which extends through a sleeve 31 for connection with the bevel gear [8 by means of a small gear 38. Adjacent the connection of the small gear 38 with the beveled gear Hi, the tube 31 and the shafting 36 is supported on the floor bottom I! by a depending bracket 39. It should thus be apparent that the cylinder 33 is driven by the gun turret l3. Also rotatable with the cylinder and in an electric communication therewith, is a contact ring 40 in engagement with which is a brush 4! connected to a battery 42 which, in turn, is

is disposed a pattern 44 of non-conducting material. This non-conducting material is preferably painted on the cylinder to leave a definite conductingarea thereon presentable to a Contact element 45 which is slidable through a lateral support 46 to which there is connected'an electric wire 41. Actuation of the contact element 45 takes place simultaneously as the cylinder 33 is being rotated by the gun turret. This slidin movement is effected by means of a bell crank 48 pivoted at 49 on a bracket 50 formed on the inside of the unit housing. This bell crank is connected by means of a bent rod to the bell crank 29 and hence any movement imparted to the vertical adjustment of the gun will be in turn, imparted to the contact element 45 to slide the same through the bracket 46. In order to keep the linkage between the contact element 45 and the gun in a taut condition, there is a spring 52 connected between the lower end of the contact element 55 and the unit housing.

The wire 47 extends to a control switch 53 usually iorming a part of the trigger mechanism, which, in turn, is connected to an electric solenoid 54 which serves as a part of a trigger mechanism 55 to normally look it. A return wire 56 extends from the solenoid 54 and is grounded to the airplane body as indicated. As long as the switch 53 is closed and the contact element d5 is on the cylinder 33 out of contact with the non-conducting material 44, the solenoid will have its plunger retracted and the gun will operate. Should the gun be'turned to such a location as predetermined by the design of the pattern on the cylinder 33 to locate the contact element 45 on the non-conducting material 44 so that the solenoid 54 is not operated, the gun will refuse to fire.

The non-conducting pattern is plotted after the entire installation of gun and turret has been completed. It is done by pointing the gun just clear of danger spots and plotting by marking the resultant location of the contact fingers on the cylinder surface. By covering the resulting pattern with non-conducting material; the interrupter is complete. Thus it should be seen that the attern can be made to suit any type of gun carrier desired, regardless of shape or size.

It should now be apparent that there has been provided an automatic control mechanism so that 1 It should also be apparent that stalled on the gun carrier. It should also be aparent that there has been provided a control mechanism which is mountable as a unit and one which thereby can be readily removed from the gun carrier to recondition the same for future spect to the axis of said carrier, gear meansadapted to rotate said member in unison with said carrier and in response to horizontal swinging movements of said gun, a cylindrical surface on said rotatable member having electrically conducting areas and electrically insulating areas, a flexible push-pull cable actuated by elevation and depression of said gun and mountedfor rotation with said carrier, a first rocker element arranged to be rocked in a vertical plane by movement of said cable and mounted to rotate with said carrier. an arm on said first rocker element adapted to move vertically in response to elevation and depression of said gun, a second rocker element mounted for rocking in a vertical plane and supported by a fixed part of said aircraft, a vertically movable arm on said second rocker element, first connecting means between said vertically movable arms on said first and second rocker elements lying substantially on the axis of rotation of said carrier, a horizontally movable arm onsaid second rocker element, a third rocker element mounted for rocking in a vertical plane and supported by a fixed part oisaid aircraft, a horizontally movable arm on said third rocker element, second connecting means between said horizontally movable arms on said second and third rocker elements, a vertically movable arm on said third rocker element, a vertically movable electrical contact arm actuated by said vertically movable arm of said third rocker element and positioned to contact said cylindrical surface, the electrical conducting areas on said cylindrical surface and said electrical contact arm being incorporated in said electrically controlled firing circuit and the contour of said electrical insulating area being such as to prevent firing of said gun when the line of fire of said gun intersects a portion of said aircraft.

CLEM G. TRIMBACH. PAUL M. BIRK. 

